Page 2 of From the Ashes

That was a hand.

Before I really know what’s happening, I’m propelling my board through the water, laying down with my arms cutting through the surf. “Hold on!” I yell. If someone’s there, it’s pretty obvious they’re struggling to surface and probably can’t hear me. But just in case they can, I want them to know that help is coming.

The current is strong, and I can feel my board trying to escape from me. But I grip on tight with my thighs and power on. I haven’t seen the hand again and cold fear is slicing through me.

“Come on, come on,” I mutter as I let the water pull me, hoping I’m going in the same direction as whoever’s gotten caught in the riptide.

It’s the hair I finally see, bobbing like a jellyfish under the surface. With a yell, I lurch forward and grab, managing to wrap my hand around what might be an arm.

A small, skinny arm.

My heart flips as I pull the young girl onto my board. She’s not big, but she’s completely limp and that makes her a dead weight. I don’t know if she’s breathing, but I have to get both of us to safety before I can stop and check. With her wedged between my chest and the board, I struggle to free us from the riptide.

One good thing about that fancy law firm I used to work for? They had an in-house gym and whenever I needed a break from a case, I’d go work my ass off on the treadmill until I had a breakthrough. These legs aren’t afraid of a little kicking.

With a roar, I push and push until suddenly, the current isn’t working against me anymore. Relief bursts through me as I make a beeline for the shore. But I’m also aware of what’s going on around me now. People in the water and on the beach areyelling and waving their arms. The lifeguard is swimming out to meet me. Someone is screaming with such terror, I know it has to be whoever’s here with this little kid today.

“Nevaeh!”the woman is wailing, running into the water with tears streaming down her face.

If I had a second to think beyond moving forward, I’m sure my heart would break.

“I’ve got her!” the lifeguard calls as she pulls the girl from me. It’s not until I make it back onto the sand do I realize how much my legs are wobbling. But I drop my board and stagger forward until I fall beside the girl and the lifeguard, who’s already doing CPR.

“Nevaeh, please,” the woman is crying on her knees, gripping onto the girl’s hand as she shakes from head to toe. “Baby girl, wake up!” There’s a crowd around us, but I hear the siren from the road above.

“The paramedics are here,” I say to the lifeguard, assuming she or someone else called them. “Let me take over.” I don’t know what the safety protocols are like she will, but I get my first aid training recertified every year. I can do the repetitive task while she uses her training to coordinate with the medics and give this kid her best shot.

“Thanks,” the lifeguard gasps. She keeps pumping the girl—Nevaeh’s—chest but moves over so I can give the next rescue breath before swapping my hands with hers. Nevaeh looks so small as she lays on the sand, her big curly hair fanned out around her in a dark cloud.

“Come on,” I snarl. No way my first day back on Redwood Bay beach is going to end in tragedy. I refuse to let it happen. “Come on, sweetheart. Come on.”

A lot of people are shouting and the siren has stopped, so I assume the medics have made it down the steps from the road to the beach. They must be nearly here.

But that’s the moment Nevaeh rolls over, choking up a stomach of saltwater and gasping for air.

The woman who I guess is her mom shrieks with relief and I can’t stop the sob that escapes my chest as the little girl continues to retch. “Fuck,” I utter, even though I probably shouldn’t. There’s an even smaller little boy hovering behind the woman, looking stricken.

Well, I’d rather he picks up a bad word to tell his big sister than the alternative.

“Paramedics coming through!” a woman yells and I look up as two people drop down into the sand beside us. The woman immediately takes Nevaeh’s pulse. I glance at her partner, a man.

I know before our eyes fully meet what’s about to happen.

It’s as if time grinds to a halt. Despite all the adrenaline rushing through my system, my pounding heart, and my trembling hands, it’s as if everything suddenly becomes very still.

Because I’ve found myself face to face with everything I tried to run away from over the past fifteen years.

“Zahir,” I whisper in disbelief.

The look of absolute horror as he stares at me tells me everything I need to know.

I didn’t run far enough.

CHAPTER 2

Zahir

I was preparedto treat a drowning victim.

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